| UK households generate a staggering thirty million | | | | produce newsprint and other items. Is it a |
| tonnes of rubbish a year, of which sixty per cent | | | | sustainable resource already? |
| comes from packaging. There has been a lot of | | | | - New landfills are constructed in the USA and this |
| publicity recently about waste that has been put | | | | should happen in the UK on a large scale which |
| out for recycling ending up in landfill sites. It is also | | | | would enable the UK to pipe the methane gas |
| clear that an increasing amount is being shipped to | | | | that they produce to local power plants supplying |
| other countries to dispose of. It can be cheaper | | | | homes in a green and eco way. |
| to transport it to other countries than to recycle | | | | - We need to ensure that any recycling |
| it or fill up the landfill sites in the UK. | | | | programmes that are run are delivered |
| The European Union (EU) has recently ordered the | | | | effectively. That means tracing waste down the |
| citizens of the United Kingdom to roughly double | | | | chain to its ultimate destination. Transparency |
| their recycling rates by 2008. Governments | | | | should inform the whole waste management |
| across the European Union and America have | | | | industry. |
| announced plans to require more recycling. Unless | | | | - If a study in undertaken and it concludes that it |
| the UK hits these targets, local council tax bills | | | | costs more to recycle than to bury the used and |
| across the UK will soar unless local authorities hit | | | | manufacture the new from scratch, then we |
| their recycling targets to enable the UK to hit | | | | could start landfills just for plastic, one for glass |
| their targets set by the EU. The UK government | | | | etc. then if we do run out of them we can dig |
| already charges tax for dumping waste in landfill | | | | them all up in one go for recycling. For example, if |
| sites to encourage us to recycle more and this | | | | the throwing away of plastic continues and |
| tax is due to increase. | | | | continuing oil shortages mean that it is more cost |
| This will punish local councils which continue to use | | | | effective we can recycle them all at once by |
| landfills and council tax payers will pay the price | | | | mining the landfills and it would be cheaper and |
| for poor performance by not recycling | | | | easier then continuous recycling. |
| themselves or by not having the facilities to do | | | | - At present, only an estimated fifteen per cent |
| this. It’s therefore cheaper to recycle then to | | | | of UK households have access to kerbside |
| dump in the landfill sites. The UK currently | | | | collections, if they these collections do not cover |
| recycles 22 per cent of its household waste while | | | | glass, paper, plastic etc. then how far do you |
| some other EU countries recycle more than half. | | | | have to drive to the nearest recycling centre and |
| The UK proposes cutting the amount of waste | | | | how much do you have to collect at home to |
| put into landfill sites from 72 per cent today to 25 | | | | ensure that you are not making more damage by |
| per cent by 2020. | | | | driving then the amount of energy you are saving |
| Some Thing to Think About -The Future? | | | | by recycling? What about the financial cost to |
| - Why do we use all that energy recycling paper | | | | collect the recycling or to take it to the recycling |
| to save the trees? There is the argument that | | | | centre? What about the energy taken to recycle |
| paper should be recycled so that we save trees | | | | it? Is oil really running out? How much landfill is |
| and forests but we now grow trees just to | | | | available? |